Heartwarming Holiday Acts of Kindness to Share with Your Kids

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When the atmosphere turns wearily familiar and everyone around prepares for the warm and close-knit holiday – it is high time to embrace the kids and teach them an essential lesson of kindness. In a recent poll conducted among Americans, it was found that about 93 percent of people provided a kind gesture like complimenting someone or saying hello to a stranger during the holiday season. It demonstrates that everyone is cared for, and it can be a family message – and one with a positive message at that.

Laurel Sims-Stewart, a counselor employed by children and adults, states that Sociotherapy conservationists stress the presence of the fourth kindergarten rule, namely the modeling of friendly behavior for children. Thus, Sims-Stewart states that ‘By practicing, or both being kind to others and with our children, we are investing directly into their primary educational experiences of how people, including ourselves, should treat each other.’

There is no better way to get children involved in acts of kindness than by engaging in small, meaningful acts. Such small gestures like opening the door for the stranger and saying ‘Please’ and ‘Thank You’ as simple examples can really go a long way. More specifically, an average of 68% of the population said that they had done this recently, according to a survey. It can make your children feel involved with the community and happy when you compel them to draw something colorful and put it in a neighbor’s mailbox or clean a park.

Donation, in any form, is also another kind of meaningful activity to perform as a family. Looking through the piles of clothes and books in the closets and shelves in order to decide what to donate is an excellent way to explain to children what this word means. Such clothes are readily accepted in organizations such as Goodwill and Dress for Success, and donating clothes results in a positive kind of generosity while at the same time being sustainable.

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Writing thank-you notes is one of the practices associated with the holiday, and children can be taught how this activity can be entertaining as well as productive. Making ‘thank you for being you’ cards for family and friends, community helpers such as firefighters, or nursing home residents can benefit the children in developing creative and writing skills.

It also points out that delivery drivers are also working during the holiday season. When package deliveries are on the rise, it is easy to make their day by giving them small tokens like homemade treats or even snacks at their doorstep. This performance shows the child the value of remembering and cherishing people who selflessly stay behind the scenes.

Other-directed listening, while appearing to be merely routine, is a benevolent activity. Since about 62 percent of kids feel that they cannot get their parents’ attention to listen to them, it is a great gift that you decide to concentrate on what the child or anyone has to say.

As discussed in this article, volunteering is another excellent area through which families can make a massive difference. Whether one gets involved at the local animal shelters, nursing homes, or parks, volunteering time, effort, and excellent skills kindle the spirit of togetherness. It may be helpful to have a word with the child and talk to them about where they would want to be volunteering.

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In the era of social distancing, keeping in touch with grandparents through video calls is a warm sign of concern and care. In particular, grandparents value such communication: 82% of them reported that they liked video calls with young family members.

Nothing is more enjoyable than donating toys to kids, especially to children’s hospitals, to bring happiness to the kids. It is also helpful to explain these donation results with other additions to older children so that the intervention may help them enhance their level of understanding and concern.

The last one but not least, is a small kind deed that makes people smile. All of this involves placing some extra cents at toy vending machines with some cheerful message written inside. One has only to write this simple phrase on a card with some money, and this can bring joy and/or a surprise to the beneficiary. We really have to carry this concept back home and encourage more people to do it.

It has been noted that involving kids in such hallows the act is a fulfilling one that is not simply confined to the recipients of the act inasmuch as the givers. It also brings a seed of empathy and generosity into the young heads. This section of our article, although building on the first section where we highlighted great examples of kind acts to include your kids, zooms into the ways that parents can make these behaviors the norm all through the holiday season and beyond.

Developing a kindness calendar is one of the best solutions for helping people remain kind to one another each day. This playful approach entails that, as a family, you sit down and come up with a calendar for the week before the holidays, with every activity being some sort of act of kindness. It could be as basic as waving to three strangers in a day or baking cookies and taking them to the neighbors.

Another useful strategy is to encourage children in the planning and implementation of such acts. Letting them decide what type of positive energy they want to share is a good way to make it feel almost like a special project. For example, if a child loves animals, he/she can indulge in making bird feeders or helping at the animal shelter agency, which can also be fulfilling.

Modeling is one of the essentials in teaching the value of being kind. Kids are able to pick a lot of things from the behavior they notice from grown-up people. Parents can spot kindness in GET; they can teach them to offer help in case of seeing a neighbor. More specifically, parents can show kindness by observing the manners of treating other people – offering assistance in the carriage of groceries, politeness towards the providers of services, etc. Hence, the adage “the show don’t tell” applies here because, to a child, what is done matters more than what is said.

It’s also important to continue teaching children and others about kindness through storybooks and movies. Some children will benefit from specific narratives that portray the characters overcoming adversities either through kindness or selflessness or will appreciate concrete illustrations that they could emulate when faced with hard times.

Another creative way to do it is to create a family kindness jar. This involves writing good things and putting them in a jar, then picking one and doing it weekly. This element of surprise makes the activities very exciting for children; they will be waiting for the next act to be performed.

Teaching children to be kind during the holiday season is a delightful and fulfilling task. Through these practical actions, the parents add value to the holiday fun and start the formation of prosocial skills in the children.